ozone

Fireworks displays create surges of pollutant ozone in lower levels of the atmosphere, where it is a respiratory irritant, greenhouse gas, and plant toxin.  Some scientists believe fireworks are  an “insignificant source of pollution”, because they occur infrequently; however, no source of greenhouse gases is insignificant considering our current climate crisis, not to mention the heavy metals and potassium perchlorate in these grand patriotic displays.

While L.A. still reigns as the most polluted city overall, a new city overtakes it for sootiest.

A full recovery of the stratospheric ozone hole could modify climate change in the Southern Hemisphere and even amplify Antarctic warming, according to scientists from the University of Colorado at Boulder, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and NASA.

Change will happen. And when it does, I'll be there with you, breathing in the fresh air.

Step outside and take a long, deep breath. Was the air clean and fresh or are you hacking up a lung? Read the American Lung Association's 2007 State of the Air Report and more ways you can reduce outdoor air pollution.

Since he was a teenager, Takeshi Uchiyamada's dream was to make a car. But as he entered his 50s as a Toyota engineer, he had all but given up hope he would ever head a project to develop a model.

Malaysia, Thailand, Colombia, Uruguay and Ghana are poised to become the world leaders in biodiesel production, according to a new study.

"Americans can make a difference in the fate of the penguin population by leaving the car at home and taking a motorcoach," Pantuso said. "Motorcoaches reduce congestion and pollution by taking more than 425 million cars off the road each year. Coaches provide the same congestion mitigation benefits as transit buses in that we have the capacity to take up to 55 cars, per coach, off the road at one time."

Refrigerating and air conditioning today employ hydrochlorofluorocarbons, HCFCs - chemicals that by international agreement have replaced other chemicals known to damage the Earth’s ozone layer. But now HCFCs have fallen out of favor because they too deplete the ozone layer and also act as greenhouse gases contributing to global warming.

The hole in the ozone layer, ozone generators for the home, ozone pollution, ozone therapy, ozone health warnings - seems to be a lot of conflicting messages. So what's the deal with ozone - is it good, is it bad or both? This article takes a brief look at the different sources of ozone and its effects.

Just some helpful hints that can minimize our impact during ozone advisory periods.

Could Global Warming Effect Our Health?
"A lot of scientists certainly think so,” said The Early Show health correspondent Dr. Emily Senay on Monday.

Ozone could be a much more important driver of climate change than scientists had previously predicted, according to a study in Nature journal. The authors say the effects of this greenhouse gas - known by the formula O3 - have been largely overlooked.

"Ozone could be twice as important as we previously thought as a driver of climate change," co-author Peter Cox, from the University of Exeter, UK, told the BBC News website.